50-Plus Bullets Fired At Kennesaw State QB In Fatal Shooting

KENNESAW, GA — Kennesaw State University quarterback Ladarius Clardy was slain early Thursday morning in an apparent drive-by shooting just hours after he arrived in his hometown of Pensacola, FL, authorities said.

Clardy, 18, was found shot to death in his car with another teen seriously injured in the passenger, sometime before 1 a.m., Escambia County (FL) Sheriff Chip Simmons told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“This was an intentional act,” Simmons said. “Someone fired over 50 rounds into the car … most of them into the car door … the driver’s door.”

A witness found the car after it had gone over an embankment near Pensacola’s west side, according to the Escambia Sheriff’s Office.

The other teen, a 19-year-old male, was taken to a nearby hospital and “was in surgery” at the time of Simmons’ press conference, he said.

“Someone fired over 50 rounds into the car ...” — Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons

Simmons said he refused to let violence of this magnitude be just a statistic.

“This is a son. This is a friend. This is a teammate. Enough is enough,” he said. “We do have some leads. But we want more. This case cannot go unsolved.”

Escambia County Sheriff's Office Press Conference, July 1.

Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May characterized the shooting as a tragic loss to the community.

“He was a wonderful honors student, a great athlete, but more importantly, a young man that has lost his life to violence,” May said.

Clardy was a rising sophomore at Kennesaw State and a backup quarterback. He was a star player at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola where he led the team to state playoffs and earned consecutive Offensive Player of the Year awards his junior and senior years, tallying 2,047 passing yards, 605 rushing yards and 17 touchdown passes his final year in school. Overall, Clardy threw for nearly 6,000 yards and contributed to 83 touchdowns in three seasons at Pine Forest.

Kennesaw State officials offered their condolences for the “tragic incident” to Clardy's family, and KSU Head Football Coach Brian Bohannon lamented the loss of part of the Owl team.

“We are devastated and heartbroken over the death of Ladarius Clardy,” Bohannon said in a statement. “Ladarius was an excellent teammate and left a mark on this program with his positive attitude. He will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ladarius' family at this difficult time.”

“He had a bright athletic history and he had a bright athletic future,” Simmons said.

Investigators are pleading with the public to help them solve this homicide. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Clardy’s shooter, authorities said.

“We are looking for a motive but we need more information,” Simmons said. “We will solve this case. We will find the individual, the coward that drove by and shot into the car over fifty times and killed one of our children.”